This is a Guide for any and all Xbox Game Pass service questions. If you want to know about some of the best game on Xbox Game Pass or Xbox Game Pass PC, click the hyperlinks to check out our lists!

Most popular Questions About Xbox Game Pass

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If You have further Questions, keep reading

What is Xbox Game Pass?

Xbox Game Pass is a subscription rental service for digital video games. For a monthly fee you can subscribe to the service and download any games that are provided in the Xbox Game Pass catalogue. These games are not streamed like the recently announced Google Stadia or many of the game’s on Sony’s PlayStation Now service.

Xbox Game Pass was announced back in February of 2017. When it first launched many referred to it as a service that was the “Netflix of video games.” In reality that may be the best way to describe it.

On June 1st 2017 Xbox Game Pass officially launched with over 100 games that would be downloadable to fully play for all subscribers; the only thing you needed was an Xbox One console, access to the internet, and a $10 a month subscription fee.

The benefit that directly downloading these games has over streaming them is that you do not have to worry about streaming latency or poor visual quality. All Game Pass games can be played offline unless an individual game doesn’t allow for offline play (like in always online games). Your internet connection speed only has bearing on how fast you can download the games you want.

Like most other streaming services, new content–in this case–games, are being added all the time. With that said games also do leave the service. There are no set dates for how long a game will be available but generally, when a new game comes in, it is there for several months.

According to Xbox director of programing Major Nelson, all first party Xbox Game Studios games will be permanent fixtures on Game Pass.
That means that Xbox flagship titles like Halo, Seas Of Thieves, Gears of War, and Forza racing will always be available on the service.

What is Xbox Game Pass Today?

Xbox Game Pass has grown a lot over the past two years. Today it has over 200 games on Xbox consoles and new games are being added all the time. The service has evolved from being something that I felt was an interesting little addition to the suite of Xbox services, into a product that is almost a must have for hardcore gamers.

Xbox Game Pass now has three versions of the service. There is the regular Xbox Game Pass which is for all Xbox One game consoles. It currently costs $10 a month though there are frequently deals to get in at cheaper introductory prices.

In May of 2019 it was announced that Xbox Game Pass would also be a service on PC. The PC library of games is different from the Xbox One library of games. PC game pass has some games which are not available on Xbox consoles such as Imperator Rome or Into the Breach.

Many games do overlap however. All first party Xbox games are also on PC and PC Game Pass. Beyond that there are several other games that are on both versions of the service. Better yet, some of these games take advantage of the Play Anywhere Xbox initiative which allows players to share save data between two versions of the same game.

With Play Anywhere you can play through a mission in a game like Gears 5 on your Xbox One and then later pick up where you left off on your PC. These games also typically allow for cross play between PC and Xbox players when it comes to the multiplayer aspects of a game.

PC Game Pass will be $10 a month like Xbox Game Pass eventually but for now there is an introductory price of $5 a month. The lower price tag is there because the PC Game Pass is still considered as being in beta.

On April 19th Xbox Game Pass Ultimate was announced. This gives you Xbox Game Pass for Xbox consoles, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Live Gold which is Microsoft’s required service to play multiplayer games online.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is $15 month. Generally, Xbox Live Gold is $10 a month or $60 a year. Xbox Game Pass is $10 a month and currently, PC Game Pass is $5 a month.

Paying for each of these services on a monthly basis would cost you $25 a month so right now, if you bundle them all together, you save yourself $10 a month if you were to pay for each service monthly.

That said you need to assess your situation. If all you wanted was PC or Xbox Game Pass plus gold, it would likely be cheaper to buy a year of gold ($60) and pay $5 (PC) or $10 (Xbox) dollars a month as opposed to paying for gold every month which is much more expensive than buying it for a year. (1 year up front=$60 1 year paying monthly=$120)

What has made Game Pass Ultimate more popular is that there is a long running promotion that lets users upgrade from any of the three services into the ultimate service for only $1.

Throughout this period there has also been a promotion that lets users combine all of their current months of Gold, Game Pass, and PC Game Pass together for huge savings. More of that in the frequently asked questions section below.

Frequently Asked Questions About Xbox Game Pass

How Much is Xbox or PC Game Pass?

Xbox Game Pass for Console is $9.99 a month. Xbox Game Pass for PC is currently at an introductory price of $4.99 but will be $9.99 a month in the future.

You can get Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $14.99 that includes Xbox and PC game Pass, plus Xbox Live Gold. Xbox Live Gold is the service that allows Xbox One Console players to play their multiplayer games online.

Xbox Live also gives away a total of four free Xbox 360, and Xbox One games a month that you can keep and play as long as you are subscribed to Xbox Live Gold. Xbox Live Gold is $9.99 a month or $24.99 for three months or $59.99 for 12 months.

Do I need Xbox Live Gold To Play Game Pass Games?

No you do not need Xbox Live Gold to play Game Pass games but you will need it to play the online multiplayer of those games on Xbox consoles. On consoles online multiplayer is generally only permitted to people who have an Xbox Live Gold subscription.

On PC you do not need Xbox Live Gold at all to play multiplayer. So in essence, you could play a game like Gears 5’s multiplayer on PC for free while on Xbox One, you will need to have Xbox Live Gold to play the game online.

All games can be played without online/multiplayer features without gold on all platforms.

Is Gamepass on Xbox 360?

No, Game Pass is not on Xbox 360. This is for Xbox One and PC Only right now. There are several Xbox 360 and even a few Original Xbox games on Game Pass though.

Can I play Xbox Game Pass Games Offline?

Yes, for the most part. Xbox Game Pass games are downloaded directly to your Xbox Console or PC. Those games can be played offline but after 30 days they will need to reconnect to the internet to make sure that your Game Pass subscription is still valid.

Some games are always online and require a player to be connected to an online server to play. Those games obviously cannot be played offline, check the details of whatever game you are playing to make sure.

In general though, the vast majority of games can be played offline so this should not be a problem as long as you are able to get online every 30 days.

Pro Tip: I have had an issue where I lost internet randomly and I could not access my Game Pass games. It appears that if you know you are going to be offline, you need to activate offline mode. If you do this first, you should be able to play most games for 30 days without a connection.

What exactly is Xbox Game Pass Ultimate?

As stated above, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is three services combined into one. Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass. Currently paying for all three on a monthly basis would cost $25 a month. Game Pass Ultimate is $15 a month.

There are no extra games or benefits to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate beyond the cheaper price for all three services. If you only plan to play games on your Xbox or on your PC, it may not be worth it to get Game Pass Ultimate, however with the current introductory upgrade price of $1, there is value in getting Ultimate right now even if you only plan to play games on one platform.

Can I pay for a full year of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate instead of monthly?

Currently, it does not seem you can pay for a year of Game Pass Ultimate up front. What you can do however is get a year (or more) of gold and then use the 1 dollar upgrade promotion to combine your Xbox Live months and Game Pass Months.

How many games are on Xbox Game Pass?

Currently there are over 200 games available for Xbox Game Pass. On PC Game Pass there are nearly 150 games. This will likely continue to grow as Xbox Game Pass originally just had over 100 games at launch.

What Games are on Xbox Game Pass?

The list of games is always changing. Every week or two new games come in and every now and then old games leave the service. For a full list of what games are currently available on Xbox Game Pass, please refer to this list provided by Xbox.com.

To find out what are some of the best games on Xbox Game Pass, we got you covered here with a frequently updated list of the best Xbox Game Pass games you can play right now.

What Games are on PC Game Pass?

The same list that tells you what games are available on Xbox One can tell you what games are available on PC. The list here from Xbox.com will keep you up to date. If you are looking for some of the best games to play we go you covered.

Are Play Anywhere Games on Game Pass?

Yes there are several play anywhere titles on Game Pass. Your save data in these games will be shared across PC and Xbox. Check out the details on a game you are interested in to see if it supports Play Anywhere.

How long do Xbox Game Pass games stay on the service?

The length varies and there doesn’t appear to be any predetermined predictable time period. Xbox Game Pass is much like Netflix, Hulu, or any other subscription service, Content comes and goes.

That said new games are almost always on the service for several months (typically I would say 2-6+) and you can find out what games will be leaving the service soon as there is a section in the Game Pass app.

The exception to this is that all first party games will remain on Game Pass forever.

Do you Own Games on Xbox Game Pass?

No, all the games played through Xbox Game Pass are essentially rentals. Like Netflix, or Hulu, you do not own the content on there. Once your subscription is up you lose access to those games.

That said, you can buy any game you wish to buy on Game Pass.

Do you get a discount on Xbox Game Pass Games?

Typically yes. There are appears to be a discount system in place that breaks down in the following way.

If a game has been on Game Pass for less than 30 days: 0% Discount.

If game has been on Game Pass after 30 days: 10% Discount.

If a game has been on Game Pass for more than 90 days: 20% Discount.

Do you get Downloadable Content (DLC) for games on Xbox Game Pass?

Generally no, though that may be an exception for games directly created by Xbox Games Studios. So far State of Decay 2 and Gears 5 have made available some DLC for both of these games.

Xbox Game Pass is still frequently evolving and maybe in the future all first party Xbox Games Studios games will include DLC but right now it’s hit and miss.

Almost no third party games (Games not developed by Xbox Game Studios) include DLC unless they are specifically game title that say otherwise such as “Game of the Year” or “Ultimate” editions.

Often, you can purchase DLC for these games at a discounted price through game pass.

Are there any games that are permanent on Game Pass?

Yes, all first party Xbox Game Studios games will remain on Game Pass forever.

In other words: the Xbox One Exclusives will be a permanent part of game pass moving forward. https://t.co/QE5V7O5toI

— Larry Hryb 🏡🎮☁ (@majornelson) January 24, 2018

Are Game Pass games playable by other accounts logged into your Xbox One?

Yes, anyone account on your home Xbox One can play games through Xbox Game Pass.

Do games come out on Game Pass the same day they launch for retail?

On some occasions, yes. All first party Xbox Game Studios games will launch on Game Pass the same day they launch for retail. That means that on day one, if you are a Game Pass subscriber, you can play these games right away.

In some cases, such as Gears 5, the Game Pass version may be made available even ahead of the release date.

This isn’t strictly limited to first party titles either. Throughout the year several third party games, generally smaller, independent titles, also launch day and date on Game Pass.

Some examples of the third party games that were or will be available day one on Xbox Game pass in 2019 are: Outer Wilds, After Party, and one of my personal favorite games of 2019, Void Bastards.

I get an error message when trying to install games from Xbox Game Pass PC.

This is a problem that sometimes pops up for PC game pass users. To fix it I suggest following these steps outlined by Xbox support. In lots of cases, following these steps solves the issue.

How do they afford to sell Game Pass for so cheap? How is this sustainable?

Well I don’t work for Microsoft or Xbox so I don’t know the exact details but basically, it looks like they are willing to offer so much value up front because it’s really good marketing.

Right now they want to get as many people into the Game Pass service as possible to build their audience. Letting people jump in for $1 or other low prices gets them into the subscription ecosystem.

The more people they have subscribed, the more monthly/yearly revenue they can generate from the service. Also the more people on board, the more attractive the service could be for some developers.

Essentially, Microsoft is probably taking a hit up front to hopefully reap high financial benefits down the line as Game Pass becomes more a household service. This is all just speculation but seems to make sense.

How does Game Pass Work for Developers? Why do developers put their games on Game Pass?

Again I don’t work at Microsoft and I have no inside knowledge but we can gleam from a few insights and try to figure out how this may all work.

Going by what has been said by a few sources, including most recently from Oxenfree and After Party developer Sean Krankel it seems that Game Pass can have several benefits for developers. In the interview he says,

“(Game Pass) really is one of the best things to happen to the industry. What happened with Oxenfree.. not only did it (not cannibalize others sales) but it also increased our sales everywhere else, on every platform… it’s the least friction imaginable for someone who is looking for a new game… they try it, they love it, ideally they tell their friends about it and we got a ton more installs across the board.”

Sean Krankel

It has also been said that developers make individual deals with Microsoft when it comes to putting their games on Game Pass. That there are different tiers of deals that could include a combination of up front payments and incentives such as revenue sharing or payments for game downloads or playing time.

The fact is we don’t know for sure how developers get compensated for adding their games to Game Pass but the money and other benefits must be enough because we have seen a lot of support for the service since its debut.

Another more obvious benefit is the exposure games get for being on Game Pass. Developers get their games featured heavily on the Xbox dash board and people playing and enjoying the games are quick to share their experiences, creating more awareness.

If you are interested in learning about more about how Game Pass may benefit developers, check out this interview from Gamingindustry.biz. It’s a great read about how Game Pass benefits consumers, developers, and Microsoft.

Is Xbox Game Pass a bad thing for the Gaming Industry?

I have been seeing this question now and then. It seems that some people view Game Pass as a bad thing. Game Pass is still very new and evolving, right now I feel like it’s a great service and a good thing for consumers and many developers. With that said I think its worth diving into some of the negativities I have seen associated with Game Pass.

You don’t own the games: This is absolutely true, when you sign up for Game Pass, you do not own any of the game associated with it. You are essential renting them.

Thinks of it like Redbox, Blockbuster, Netflix. You are paying for access to these games. They go away when you end your subscription or if they get taken out of the service.

I think its a reasonable and fair proposition. The consumer always has the option to buy the games as well. It’s not as if all of your save data and time put into the games goes away if a game leaves the service.

Game Pass Cheapens the Value of games: I don’t know if there is enough evidence out there to suggest this. In theory I suppose it could make some gamers value games less. There are certainly games I haven’t bought because I know I can get them on Game Pass.

Does that mean I no longer will pay full price for games? No, I still buy games that aren’t on Game Pass all the time. Nor do I expect all games to be cheaper or available through another service. I can only speak for myself here though.

Game Pass will be filled with poor quality games: Because of Microsoft’s spotty performance when it comes to making highly rated first party games during the Xbox One’s life span a lot of people argue that Microsoft will use game pass to shovel out poor quality games.

Kind of like going to a buffet, you can eat all you want but the food is not up to the quality of most restaurants. You get a lot more but it is not as good.

I can see why some people would fear this, theoretically Microsoft could just mass produce a lot of poor quality games and hope that’s enough to keep people signed up. I don’t think that’s the route they are going though.

Many of their lower rated games were made well before Game Pass was a thing. Also in the last couple of years Microsoft has acquire a lot more talent for their in house studios.

Phil Spencer Himself on Gamers “worried” about Game Pass

There is a great interview on Eurogamer where Xbox Game Studios head Phil Spencer talks about some consumers concerns about Game Pass. Here is an excerpt.

The thing at the highest level, which will probably get me in trouble, is as gamers you should focus on what you want, not focus on, like, my P&L [profit and loss statement], or the P&L of the console you chose to invest in. I see this dialogue about somebody worried that somehow Xbox is gonna make less money, or their console is gonna make less money if they tell me a game is going to be on a different platform before it actually comes out, or it’s gonna be in a subscription, which is really what I want, but somehow that’s gonna mean less money for them so I don’t want them to do that because I’d rather pay more money so…

You should focus on you as a gamer and the things that matter to you. We as the people running the business – I am incented to run a good business inside of Microsoft and in the long term. I’ve been here for 31 years. I don’t know that I’ll make 31 more, but I’m not going anywhere tomorrow. We’re building an Xbox business for the long run. I’ll tell you, Game Pass today is a strong part of that, and it continues to get stronger, and it supports the building of great IP.

Phil Spencer to Eurogamer

Ultimately time will tell but I think it’s too early to have this concern. Also the quality of games available on Game Pass has gone up since the service has lost, the opposite of what this “poor quality buffet” theory suggest.

How does the $1 Xbox Game Pass Upgrade Deal Work?

Ok, here is the deal. Since Xbox Game Pass Ultimate first launched, there has been a frequent promotion that allows you to upgrade to a month of Ultimate for only $1. That alone is a pretty cool deal but, it goes much deeper than that.

The way this promotion frequently works is that if you have Xbox Live Gold, Xbox or PC Game Pass, you stack all of the services time together and it converts into time for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

What do I mean? I’ll break it down. Let’s say, you already have Xbox Live Gold paid for let’s say, 10 months. Well for $1, you will get Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for that 10 months of Xbox Live Gold+1 extra month for upgrading. That makes a 11 total months of ultimate.

Another example. Let’s say you have 6 months of gold and already have 3 months of game pass you paid for. For $1 you would then get that 6 months of gold plus your 3 months of game pass added together to become 9 months total. Then you get the extra 1 month for upgrading for a total of 10 months of Game Pass Ultimate.

You can stack up to 36 months together. THis deal only works if you haven’t previously already upgraded to Game Pass Ultimate. This specific promotion seems to come and go. You can look into it more if you are thinking about upgrading to see if this deal is still valid.

I myself made the upgrade a few months back. If you really want to get a lot value out of it I highly suggest adding more months of Xbox Live Gold before the upgrade.

Every month you have on either service converts into Ultimate so the more time you have on Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass before converting the better value. I myself have Game Pass Ultimate paid up for over two years thanks to this deal.

Have more questions? Comments?Hit us up anytime.

I hope this guide has answered all of your Xbox Game Pass questions. It’s a service I have used extensively and enjoy quite a bit. I don’t think this will be the only future of gaming but I do think its will be a part of that future.

Hopefully Game Pass continues to add positive value to gamers and developers alike. Thank you for reading and don’t hesitate to leave a comment or hit me up on twitter.